Tackle My Heart (Oiginal, Being Relaunched under same name)
by RoseLaurel
Summary: Reid finds himself in a hopeless situation that Garcia proposes to get him out of with 5 simple steps. Can she help her baby genius, or is Morgan more dense than we all thought? WARNING! Contains slash, sexual situations, tackling, and Garcia's plans
1. Joining Forces

_Hello! This story came about in quite an interesting way... a friend and I were discussing plot ideas for Criminal Minds, I had her laptop and started writing (the beginning you will hopefully go on to read shortly) and decided our little idea would become a one shot. As I was writing the one shot, it slowly evolved into an idea for a short chapter fic... OK, maybe it's not that interesting... but the story is! So, with out further ado, Read, Enjoy, Review ^_^_

_]-{~#~}-[_

Tackle My Heart

Reid grunted as his lithe body collided with the hard ground below, feeling his bones crunch beneath him at the sudden contact. Pain exploded from his hip up across his back, and he found himself gasping for the air that had been knocked from him. Wide brown doe eyes connected with those of the male hovering above him, pinning him to the cold wood below. They lay there for a moment before Reid, regulating his breathing, pushed the much heavier male off with a groan.

"What the hell, Morgan!" The darker male grinned, dragging himself to his feet and offering a hand to the embarrassed man, who swatted it away.

"C'mon, Pretty Boy, it's not my fault you suck at the defensive stance."

"I had my back turned!"

"Never turn your back on an UnSub."

"You're not an UnSub! You're MORGAN!" Morgan's smirk didn't falter as he watched his flustered co worker stumble to his feet and sulk from the training gym, glowering with fierceness and venom of a new born kitten.

"And it's that kind of attitude that gets you in trouble all the time." A now indignant new born kitten.

"I am _not_ in trouble _all _the time!" the elder profiler just snorted in reply, making his way into the bullpen where the rest of the team, who had evidently heard that last comment from Reid, were staring at them with raised eyebrows. "What?" Hotch cleared his throat, a signal for everyone to go back to what they were doing – which they immediately acknowledged. Pouting, the young genius made his way to his own desk after grabbing his sugar laced coffee from the break room, wincing as he sat. Prentiss coughed suggestively

"And what have you two been up to?" receiving only grumbles from the skinny brunette, she switched her gaze to Morgan, whose grin still hadn't faded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Ooooooh its like THAT is it?" She teased, wiggling her eyebrows and causing the only just calmed Dr Reid to blush

"What? No! W-we were just tackling!"

"Is that what they're calling it now? 'Tackling'?" Morgan chuckled as he watched the banter between his two co workers, debating when he should step in, otherwise Hotch would appear from no where to reprimand them (As Hotch was inclined to do on a rainy afternoon in the office)

"Emily! Morgan was just teaching me-"

"I'm sure Morgan could teach you a lot." The genius seemed to calm, and Morgan felt the conversation coming to a soft end

"Well... not really... I already have most of the knowledge, he just offered to help with the practical aspect- ...why are you laughing?" Or not. Morgan joined the cackling that filled the bullpen as Spencer's face reddened in realisation, and Emily fell off of her chair in stitches.

"Ok, Ok, that's enough" Morgan panted, waiting for Emily's laughter to subside "I was just trying to teach Reid how to defend himself." Both girl and genius began to relax as Morgan clarified the issue "Besides, come on Emily, if I was going to take anyone to the gym for those reasons, don't you think I'd have better taste than Reid?" the laughter had stopped completely now, but Morgan didn't notice Emily's eyes narrow at him, and the hurt in Reid's puppy gaze.

"You call him Pretty Boy-"

"Yeah, but I like my bones with a bit of meat on them. And preferably some hot curves..." Then, grinning good naturedly, he had to add "I'm not keen on the 'walking encyclopedia' type."

"We get your point, Morgan!" Reid snapped, rising to his feet "I do not need you to point out my every inadequacy and shove it in my face!" Emily watched as Reid left the bullpen, before turning furiously to Morgan.

"What was that all about?"

"Beats me. Guess he was a little-"

"Not him! You!" the dark male seemed dazed before looking at his coworker in a puzzled manner

"Me?"

"Yes, You! You know how sensitive Reid is about himself. And 'Walking Encyclopedia'! I thought you were supposed to be his best friend!" standing abruptly, Emily set off in search of her distressed friend, knowing full well the part she played in his upset, and feeling guilty as ever. After checking the break room, and peaking into JJs office, Emily decided to see if she couldn't persuade Garcia to check the security system in order to find the brunette…

"He said that?" The usually unwavering woman winced as she came to the conclusion Garcia already knew what was going on. Cracking the door open, she slipped into Garcia's lair before quietly shutting the door behind her

"Reid, there you are! I wanted to apologise-" she couldn't bring herself to continue as a pair of puffy red eyes glanced up at here… Reid had been crying? "Spencer… I…"

"Emily!" Jumping, said female stood to attention "Just the person I wanted to see!"

"Garcia, I didn't mean to-"

"Tell me that my chocolate Adonis did NOT just be mean to my baby genius!"

"He was out of line, I'm sure he's sorry, Spencer, I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"He doesn't have to be sorry… its not his fault I'm-"

"DON'T say it, Spencer! You are NOT inadequate, you are perfect, he was just being a jerk."

"Am I missing something?" Prentiss watched as the eccentric blonde turned to their young friend. He just nodded miserably, to which Garcia forced Emily to sit and checked outside the door to see if the coast was clear before offering an explanation.

"Ok, Emily, this information can NOT leave the three of us, you are hereby sworn to secrecy and if you were to compromise this promise I shall do unspeakable things to your credit rating,"

"Ok, ok, I promise!" Spencer looked as if he had lost the will to live as Garcia whispered his secret to Prentiss.

"...No way..." the blonde nodded "So... Reid... Spencer... is gay?"

"Bisexual" Spencer corrected, only to be brushed off

"And he's in love with Morgan? ...I didn't see that one coming..." A thought crossed her mind, and Emily was suddenly reminded of her own part in Spencer's harsh 'rejection'. "Spencer..."

"So here is the plan, my lovelies!"

"Plan?" The pair exclaimed in unison, staring at Penelope

"Yes, plan. If our darling Derek can't see what he's missing out on, we'll have to make him see..."

"Penelope-"

"Hush, Baby Genius, and listen. My plan will succeed in one of two things: Making Derek Morgan fall hopelessly in love with you or realise his love for you, or help you to move on and find someone to be happy with."

"But..."

"But? Can you see fault in my plan? Trust me, Spencer, you're something special and you deserve to be happy. 5 steps, that's all, and if after 5 steps my plan hasn't worked, you can back out."

"...Ok."

"Besides- wait... what?"

"Ok." Penelope smiled and looked to Emily, who nodded her agreement. Together, these girls were going to change Spencer's life. They just didn't know how big the change would be just yet.

_]-{~#~}-[_  
_Ok, the beginning of this chapter wrote itself... the end, however, was not so nice. Please review, all ideas are welcome. What lies in store for Spencer and Morgan?_


	2. This Is Reid?

"_**If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies... It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it." ~Albert Einstein**_

Spencer giggled as four colourful blurs zipped across his living room, tumbling over one another as they went. Setting down the small dish he had in his hands, he stood there for a moment as the four fluffy bundles wobbled over to it and began lapping up the cool water. Their mother, a beautiful Egyptian Mau, rubbed against his legs, then jumped and hissed at the door as a tune rattled off in knocks. Blinking in surprise, Spencer went to see who it was, only to be greeted by an excitable Garcia, and a grinning Prentiss, who bustled in upon seeing him and began chatting away at warp speed. Closing the door quickly, the young genius tore himself out of his daze to swipe a kitten from under Prentiss' foot.

"Ah! ...Aww... I didn't know you kept kittens, Reid..."

"They're 4 weeks old..."

"Is she the mother?" Garcia enquired; as the adult cat enjoyed all the sudden attention she was being given. Spencer nodded, still unsure how he felt about the invasion of his personal space.

"How long have you had her?"

"What breed is she?"

"She's 8 years old... I got her when she was 1… she's a silver Egyptian Mau." Garcia and Emily stood in silence, pondering this new information

"You never told us you had a cat…"

"You never asked."

"How could I not know you have a cat? And kittens?" Spencer couldn't help but smirk at this

"Not everything about me is on my file, Garcia." Again, the girls found themselves reeling with questions as realisation dawned on them – they didn't know Spencer as well as they thought they did.

"What's her name?"

"Anita"

'He even gave his cat a normal name…' Emily thought, before Spencer opened his mouth once again

"Did you know Anita Roberts was the 49th most-cited scientist in the world and the second most-cited female scientist as of 2005? She was a molecular biologist who made pioneering observations of a protein, TGF-β, that is critical in healing wounds and bone fractures and that has a dual role in blocking or stimulating cancers! She did this by isolating the protein from bovine kidney tissue and compared her results with TGF-β taken from human blood platelets and placental tissue. Institute researchers then began a series of experiments to determine the protein's characteristics. TGF-β was later shown to have an effect on regulation of the heartbeat and the response of the eye to aging-"

'Or not…'

"That's lovely, Spencer darling, but we have plans for today, of course you could always stay here with your kittens and we'll go shopping for you…" Spencer went from excitably explaining the many achievements of Anita Roberts to deadpan in 0.5 seconds flat.

"There is no way in hell I am letting you two go shopping for me." After the initial shock of Spencer's reaction faded, Garcia broke out into a grin

"Then it's decided. You're coming shopping with us."

"W-what? I did not agree to that-" the young genius' splutters were ignored as Garcia continued to stroke Anita thoughtfully.

"What do you do with them when you're away, Reid?" Emily asked, watching, intrigued as the three small bundles roamed the living room, and the one in Reid's arms began to suckle at his finger.

"Mrs. Martial watches them for me." He replied, as if stating the obvious, before gathering the little furry creatures into his arms. He already had the golden one in his hold, and plucked the smoky kit easily from its place in front of the CD rack. He then looked around to find the two little silver balls of fun, one of which had climbed a stack of books and was looking very proud of itself, whilst the other sat watching, mewing now and then in what seemed like encouragement. Sighing, Spencer picked up the silver kittens and took them into a room next to his. Anita, whether in knowing or out of curiosity for her litter, stood and trotted after her owner, who gently placed the babes in a wicker cat basket before quickly yet cautiously closing the door.

"Orville is definitely going to be the most trouble as he grows up…"the brunette commented, earning him a raised eyebrow from his fellow field agent.

"Orville?"

"Yes, Did you know-" before the ramblings could begin, the young genius found himself being forced into his shoes, coat and out of his apartment, arriving in the back seat of 'Esther' in less than 5 minutes. "…You two would make very good kidnappers…"

"Why thank you, sweet cheeks."

"…I'm not sure that was a compliment" Spencer groaned, sinking down into the seat as Garcia sped down the road in the direction of the mall, ignoring any pleas, protests or excuses from their worried friend.

=\}'|'{/=

"I am NOT coming out!"

The girls sighed, rolling their eyes as they reminded Spencer that he was only behind a curtain – it didn't matter to them whether he was dressed or not, they would pull it back. Gingerly, a set of fingers curled around the tacky red and green striped curtain, moving it slowly aside... and a man stepped out that Emily, for a moment, didn't quite recognize.

"...Spencer?"

"O... M... G... I so have to get you to do a cat walk later..." Spencer sighed, running his fingers through his hair in embarrassment as the girls examined him, cooing and commenting as they walked around him like vultures. He felt his face heat up even further as they began plucking at his clothes and touching, to which he quickly moved from their grasp, bumping into one of the shop assistants and causing him to drop the clothes hangers he was carrying.

"Oops… s-sorry…" he stuttered, helping the assistant pick up what had been dropped.

"Its fine" the man nodded, dark eyes wandering over Spencer's outfit before gathering up the fallen items, before taking the last hanger from the brunette, giving a small smile and leaving to carry on his work.

After choosing a couple of new mix-and-match outfits, Garcia paid, despite Spencer's protests, and made him change into one of his 'new looks' before they went for lunch. Not that he was bothered about lunch... it was the all mighty promised coffee that would come with his lunch that he needed. So that's how he found himself, cheeks flushed an 'adorable' pink from the number of stares he received, walking behind the two excitably chattering females in a pair of dark blue-almost black jeans that, according to his companions, 'fitted nicely to show off the curve off his ass without hugging too tightly', and a duck egg blue shirt that was long sleeved with both sleeves rolled up to the elbows, with the top 3 buttons open to show his 'well defined' collarbones. Sighing, the young genius did his best to ignore the looks he was getting, and imagine that hit he just felt across his ass was an accident, as he moved closer to the two women he was with.

After lunch, coffee and a couple more clothes stores, the three made their way back to Spencer's apartment, where the girls, as soon as the door was closed, begged Spencer to show them all his new clothes in cat walk fashion.

"But… no… what if we have a case?"

"We won't, don't worry." Garcia reassured, dying to see how her baby would look in the white shirt she had picked out for him. It had no colour, so it showed off the top of his shoulders, and came down like a V-neck so you could almost see his Pecs.

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Spencer, honey, we will not get a call out to a case tonight. I'm positive." Spencer gave an undignified snort, surprising the girls for the umpteenth time that day.

"Only fools are positive." Emily raised an eyebrow

"Are you positive?"

"yes, I'm positive!..." silence filled the room as Spencer, with an IQ of 187, stared, dumb-founded, before pouting and, in a whining almost childishly

"I can't believe I fell for that!" The girls just giggled, calling out their preferences as their friend sulked off to change.

"The white shirt that shows off your shoulders!"

"No, the green cardigan!" rolling his eyes, Spencer left them arguing over his choice of clothes, changed, and crept out of his bedroom to see both waiting eagerly on his sofa, watching like hawks.

"…Wow…" Garcia's jaw dropped

"You can say that again…!"

"…Wow…" Spencer had put on Garcia's choice, a white shirt which opened around 2 to 3 cm to show a little of his chest, the top of the 'collar' cutting off just below his collarbones, with Emily's pick over the top – a khaki green cardigan-like top, which was also a V neck and opened a little further than the white shirt, but didn't go down as far. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, so the white cuffs folded over that of the cardigans. With them he wore a pair of midnight-blue jeans in the same style as those he had been wearing previously, and his comfy white trainers. He smiled slightly as he observed the girls reactions, before frowning at Emily's sheepish look.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yeahh… uh… we have a case…"

"What? I need to change-" Garcia hushed him, grabbing his go bag and forcing him out of the apartment, Prentiss following close behind.

"Despite what my dreamland fantasies would love, Derek Morgan is not stalking you or recording your every move, therefore for him to see your new look, you will have to be WEARING said look when you see him." Both Spencer and Emily merely stared.

"You have fantasies about Derek stalking me?"

"Don't you?" coughing and spluttering, Spencer found himself being escorted out the building, stopping only to inform Mrs. Marshall that he would be on a case, and would be much obliged if she could watch Anita and the kittens.

=\}'|'{/=

Hotch sighed, glancing at the clock, trying to ignore how Morgan drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. JJ and Rossi exchanged glances before Emily burst into the room and slid into a chair.

"Something wrong?" Rossi enquired. Prentiss shook her head, glancing at the door, which caused everyone else to watch the door… and gasp as Reid gets ushered through by one Penelope Garcia.

"Garcia take you shopping?" Rossi smirked, his amusement growing as his young co-worker blushed and nodded timidly

"Shoulda known my baby girl had something to do with this." Morgan grinned "She's quite the miracle worker." Spencer tried not to seem taken back by this comment, but the positive glow he had developed had now faded as he crossed the room to sit with Emily.

"What's that supposed to mean-"

"Can we focus on the case, please?" Hotch said, snapping out of his shock and opening the case file. Everyone just nodded in agreement, and got down to business, not noticing Garcia's glare penetrating Morgan's skull as she left the room to plot her next step in her lair…

"_**The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this." ~Mark Twain**_

=\}'|'{/=

_This is likely to be the last time I describe what Reid is wearing, so you may let your wild imaginations decide ;) I write the case, but it will likely be very brief, and to the point, as well as focusing on Reid, is that ok? And criminal Minds doesn't seem like criminal minds without quotes… so what do you think of me choosing suitable quotes for the beginnings __and ends of each chapter? Well, as always, I hope you enjoyed, please don't hesitate to review :) I would love to hear any ideas/queries/comments you may have! :D Oh, and I have a poll on my profile that I would love for eveyone to vote on! It's about a new story I am brainstorming, would anyone be interested? Poll is one porfile :D_


	3. Not Always Rainbows And Butterflies P1

_Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I would have done it sooner, but with assignments to do AND my computer dying, there wasn't much I could do. On top of that my memory stick commited suicide, so part two which was half way written... is now gone. T_T The only reason this chapter lives is because I sent it to a friend - so everyone give a big THANK YOU to my BEST FRIEND Tansie, whose laptop I am currently using to update, and who saves all my fics, therefore saving this chapter and allowing me to give it to you ^_^ So, without further ado, Read, Enjoy, Review :)_

~#/::\#~

_(Part One)_

"_**In America sex is an obsession, in other parts of the world it is a fact." ~Marlene Dietrich **_

The jet ride was quick and uneventful. 9 Black females found dead, all with different body parts missing, all dumped in different locations. The only common factor was that they were black, so the media was pushing 'Hate Crime'. The team discussed the details of the case, putting some preliminary ideas together and discussing how to deal with the media, as well as the police force itself, which was somewhat short staffed. They landed in Plymouth, North Carolina and went straight to the hotel, deciding there wasn't much they could do until morning due to the delayed take off and delayed arrival, so Hotch picked up the keys from the reception desk and assigned everyone their rooms. JJ and Emily, Rossi and Hotch, Morgan and Reid. Emily winked at Reid as she followed JJ to their room, and he could only sigh as the sound of Linkin Park's 'Numb' Piano instrumental drifted from his pocket. Morgan raised an eyebrow, evidently recognising the tune but being unable to put a name to it before the song stopped and Reid answered wearily

"Reid."

"Don't say my name!"

"Wha-"

"Is he in the room with you?" rolling his eyes, the young genius excused himself and hid away in the adjoining bathroom.

"Garcia, it's midnight, can't this wait?"

"I just wanted to make sure my baby was ok! That Derek Morgan is really beginning to ruffle my-"

"Garcia!"

"Shh… ok. I'll call back tomorrow. But only because you need to be fully rested and look your most scrumptious for Step 2! Night sweetcheeks."

"Step 2? Wait! Garcia! I'm on a case! Garcia!" realising he was getting no where on the phone to somebody who had already hung up, Spencer quickly washed before switching places with Morgan and getting changed. Garcia was right about one thing… he would need his sleep if he was going to be working at his best tomorrow. To solve the case, that is. Not for 'Step 2'. To catch an UnSub. Not to catch Derek-

"Morgan?" he squeaked, trying to stop his eyes from lingering on the artistically sculpted, muscular, _naked_ chest belonging to his co worker, who emerged from the shower in nothing but a towel.

"Hm? Something wrong, Kid?"

"…" not trusting his voice, Spencer just shook his head and turned away. His mind, however, was not so polite, and made pictures to match the sound of rustling clothes and the creaking mattress behind him.

'Thank God there are two separate beds…'

The creaking continued as Derek-_Morgan_… made himself comfortable, leaving Spencer silently cursing his Eidetic Memory as images flashed through his mind of the day Garcia found out about his crush… or, more particularly, what he had been _looking at_ the day Garcia found out about his crush…

"Pretty Boy? …Reid?" Great… the last thing he needed was to talk to Morgan. Maybe if he stayed quiet, Morgan would think he was asleep? Yes… after all, it was dark, and even the most seasoned profiler couldn't see in the dark.

"I'm sorry about earlier"

Ha-ha. Seasoned. That made them sound like some sort of fancy restaurant dish.

"I was out of line, and I went too far."

Emily would be a sweet and sour dish… Rossi could be a fancy Italian pasta. JJ would be a strawberry milkshake… Hotch could be a Rock Cake… Garcia, something sweet and saucy…

"I didn't mean to offend you, I should have thought about what I was saying"

Knickerbocker Glory? …Morgan would definitely be something chocolaty… Chocolate Sauce, maybe?

"And I shouldn't have waited so long before apologising"

He wouldn't mind being the cake… wait! …Why was he even thinking about this? He must be tired… hang on… Morgan was apologising?

"I guess you really are asleep… well… I'll talk to you in the morning then…" Silence settled over the pair before being replaced by Morgan's calming breaths. The last thought on Reid's overworked, evidently _exhausted_ mind as sleep took over was:

Yes. Morgan was definitely driving him crazy.

~#/::\#~

"Reid?"

"…Yes, sir?"

"Is that another Garcia-chosen outfit?" Spencer had awoken before the alarms, and decided there was no point in going back to sleep so carried out his routine as per usual. What was _not _usual, however, was his go-bag, which had been completely re-packed and made him want to scream. It had 'courtesy of Garcia' written all over it! Not literally, of course, or he really would have screamed. Now he was in an SUV with his boss and Rossi, whilst the others followed up separately.

"…sort of…"

"Sort of?" Hotch echoed, wondering who else was in on Reid's sudden make over.

"Prentiss" he knew it. "picked out the jeans… and Garcia chose the shirt," the smart, dark jeans and crisp white button up with natural vertical creases, that barely covered his collar bones ", I chose the coat myself." Rossi, with lightning reflexes that a man of his age should not possess, quickly laid his hand upon the steering wheel, preventing Hotch from swerving into the car in the adjacent lane. Needless to say, the long, sleeveless black coat which reached halfway down Reid's calves and possessed only 6 buttons between the clavicle and the belly areas was _not_ what they'd consider Reid's taste to be. However, Rossi's reflexes failed as the younger agents phone went off, and he was infinitely glad that there was no car alongside them as the SUV dipped in and out of the next lane.

"And you complain _my_ driving is bad." Reid commented, seemingly oblivious to his co workers shock, and answered his phone.

"Are you looking scrumptious?"

"Did you _re-pack_ my go-bag?"

"Ooh I take it your Socratic answer means yes: you look devilishly edible."

"Devilishly Edible? Garcia that makes no sense whatsoever!" he exclaimed, blushing as both elder profilers raised an eyebrow, and making a mental note not to say anything else that might alert them to the nature of the call.

"Are you ready for Step 2?"

"No, Garcia, we're not at the station yet."

"Don't worry, this will be _very_ subtle, my Junior G-Man."

"_Garcia_ even if you are bored, the _case_ hasn't really started yet." Hotch and Rossi laughed as Reid began to cough and splutter, no doubt at whatever obscenities Garcia was terrorising him with.

Upon reaching the police station, Reid had weighed up the arguments for and against following Garcia's plan, and had come to the decision to approach Emily later about how to execute 'Step 2'. Right now though, they had an UnSub to catch. Introductions were made, and they wasted no time in getting to work. JJ, of course, had the suicidal task of coping with the media, and trying to prevent them from pushing the murders as 'hate crime'. Rossi and Hotch were visiting the first four dumpsites, whilst Prentiss, Morgan and Reid were to meet the lieutenant and go to the last four dump sites.

~#/::\#~

"You must be the FBI." A tall woman with plaited black hair and delicate curves approached them "I'm lieutenant Amelia Sykes…" a smile played across her lips as her eyes fixed on the male before her "and what's _your_ name, cutie?" Morgan grinned; stepping forward to take the woman's outstretched hand.

"Derek Morgan-" Emily bit her lip to contain her laughter at Morgan's face as the Lieutenant breezed past him and took Spencer's hand in hers.

"Huh? Oh… uh… I'm…"

"Dr Spencer Reid" Emily came to the young mans aid as he gingerly took his hand back from Sykes "And I'm Emily Prentiss. This is where Vicky Rudman was found?" she gestured to the marshy bank of a large body of water to their left. Sykes nodded, keeping her eyes on Reid as she led them to the exact location, one of the many reservoirs coming off of the river.

"There's so much water around here…why dump a body where it can be found? Why not dump it in water? Surely it'd be easier… then you could blame the alligators or something."

"Plymouth has a total area of approximately 3.9 square miles, 0.26% of which is water. And, contrary to popular belief, there aren't that many alligators in North Carolina. There have only been around 0.115 alligator attacks per 1 million people in North Carolina as opposed to Florida's 18.943 per 1 million people. Out of all documented alligator attacks since 1948, there have been 17 fatal attacks in Florida and one fatal attack in Georgia. Additional deaths which were previously reported have been ruled out because the wounds appeared to be post-mortem. The most common cases were lacerations or scratches on the hands, whereas the most common activity attributed to the attack was an attempt to capture, pick up or exhibit the alligator. In fact-"

"Is he always this… passionate?" Sykes asked, eyes roaming over Reid's ass as he walked.

"It gets old fast." Morgan stated nonchalantly "Hey, kid, concentrate on the case." Emily glared at Morgan, before walking alongside Reid, who was looking like a kicked puppy.

"Don't lose heart, Reid" Emily comforted as she and Reid sifted through the reeds by the bank of one of the many reservoirs.

"Don't lose heart? He's obviously not interested, Emily! I don't know why I let you and Garcia talk me into this in the first place..." hating to see her friend looking so dejected, Prentiss went forward to lay a hand on his shoulder

"LOOK OUT!" she jumped as Lt Sykes's voice pierced through the air, making her bump into Reid, who lost his footing and plunged into the murky waters.

"Reid! Oh my... I'm so sorry" she gasped, helping Spencer out of the water and trying her best not to look too shocked at what she saw. Luckily for him, Spencer had left his coat in the car, but his trousers were now ripped at the bottoms, down one shin and horizontally across one of his thighs, clinging desperately to his ass, whilst his shirt showed that, despite being a skinny genius, he was actually rather nicely built. Not as muscular as a sportsman or as toned, for that matter, but there was... a defined masculinity about him, something gorgeous that Emily just could not put her finger on, but made the absence of bulky muscle unimportant in the wake of his sodden silky hair, pale skin and rich brown orbs, which were now resting on her in an uncertain, self conscious gaze as he stood there dripping.

"Reid... if Morgan doesn't hurry up and pick you up, I may just jump your bones myself." Prentiss smirked as a faint blush crept across the young man's cheeks, and he coughed and spluttered a reply she couldn't quite make out.

"Sorry, false alarm. Is everyone ok?" Sykes asked with fake innocence as she and Morgan rushed over.

"Wow... pretty boy you look-"

"Hot" Sykes grinned, winking at Reid, and making Morgan frown in annoyance.

"Like a drowned rat. Come on, there's no time to be playing around." Reid was infinately glad at that moment that he was wet through, because if he wasn't than the other profilers may have noticed the tears pricking at his eyes as Morgan guided Sykes away, Prentiss close behind, and he followed, like the stupid, faithful puppy he seemed to have become.


	4. Not Always Rainbows And Butterflies P2

_So sorry about how long this has taken me! Having to re-write it kind of damaged my motivation... but never fear! I am reverting back to my old ways and planning more chapters, as well as having planned out a HotchXReid three-shot! :D Also, I should have unlimited access to a laptop for a week in May... (My computer is still dead T_T) Don't forget: Read, Review, and above all, Enjoy._

_-{\|/}-_

"Sorry, false alarm. Is everyone ok?" Sykes asked with fake innocence as she and Morgan rushed over.

"Wow... pretty boy you look-"

"Hot" Sykes grinned, winking at Reid, and making Morgan frown in annoyance.

"Like a drowned rat. Come on, there's no time to be playing around." Reid was infinately glad at that moment that he was wet through, because if he wasn't than the other profilers may have noticed the tears pricking at his eyes as Morgan guided Sykes away, Prentiss close behind, and he followed, like the stupid, faithful puppy he seemed to have become.

-{\|/}-

_(Part 2)_

When the four reached the station, Sykes hooked Reid's arm and lead him to the break room, whilst Prentiss followed Morgan into the empty conference room, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"I'm not sure what I make of this at the moment... the dumpsites-"

"We need to talk." Prentiss interrupted, gesturing for the dark male to sit down. Overlooking the gesture, Morgan turned to face his co-worker, confusion written over his face.

"What's this about?"

"I think you know." She paused for a moment before carrying on "You've been really... mean... to Reid lately. Why?"

"I have not been 'mean' to Reid."

"Yeah, you have." Emily stated matter-of-factly "You have been insulting and frankly it really isn't like you. You're usually the one defending him from the jerks... but recently, it's you who has been the jerk." Morgan stared dumbfounded before snapping out of his daze

"Prentiss... I would _never_ do anything to hurt Reid. In fact, I'm insulted that you would even think that I-"

"Is it Sykes?"

"Huh?"

"Are you jealous that Reid is getting all the attention? You're worried that he's muscling in on your turf?"

"What? No!"

"Or maybe it's Sykes that you're jealous of?"

"Why would I be jealous of her?" Morgan rolled his eyes, but Prentiss could see his jaw grinding.

"Because. There is absolutely no denying the fact that Reid. Is. Hot." ignoring her friends attempt to cut her off, Prentiss continued "He is smart, sexy, and getting a lot of attention from both the ladies, and the men. Could it be that the 'great' Derek Morgan is getting a little hot under the collar because he isn't the only one paying heed to our young genius? Because he may not be the most important person in Spencer's life for much longer?"

"That's not fair!" Emily tried to maintain her confident demeanour as she watched the anger flare into Morgan's deep, dark brown eyes.

"What isn't? The truth?" Before the male could reply, both agents jumped as the door swung open and the rest of the team entered, discussing their findings. Morgan sat slowly, pretending that the frown across his handsome face was a product of the pictures laid before him on the table, not the result of Prentiss' hard gaze that rested upon him before turning to tell Hotch of their findings. But as the object of their 'talk' gingerly entered the room, long fingers wrapped around a large coffee mug, he couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander over the skinny frame and think about the past days occurrences.

'I am _not_ jealous of _Reid_... but there is _no way_ that I'm jealous of Lt Sykes... is there? No! Wait... since when did Prentiss call Reid by his first name? Is there something going on there? Well, she has been spending more time around him... not that I care. It just hurts that he wouldn't tell me, is all. He's just a lanky, awkward, socially inept genius. Even so, he's the youngest of the team... a kid. So he doesn't know what he's getting into with Sykes. So I need to protect him... I'm protecting him... aren't I?' Snapping out of his jumbled thoughts, Morgan returned his attention to the details of the case.

"We have 9 victims, 9 different methods, 9 different dumpsites, 9 different body parts missing. Please... _someone_ tell me that they have a linking factor except victimology here?" Hotch sighed exasperated

"Perhaps it is the victimology we should be looking at? Maybe it isn't just the skin colour, but something about these girls that puts them in the same place in the UnSubs mind?" The team's eyes rested on Reid in tired disbelief "I mean, there has to be something linking the victims besides the fact they're all black women, and I'm pretty certain we can rule out hate crime because there is no true, consistent signature, and the UnSub is taking trophies, but never the same trophy... in fact, I would even go as far as suggesting-"

"Reid. We can't afford to lead the investigation on 'suggestions'." A voice cut the young brunette off from his musings, and it took a few minutes for Morgan to realise it was his voice cutting him off... why was he interrupting? But before anyone could comment on it, attention was drawn to a sudden commotion erupting from the lieutenants desk outside the teams borrowed room. Hotch sent Prentiss to see what was happening, whilst JJ went for takeaway.

When Prentiss came back into the room, the noise had calmed down and she was closely followed by Lt Sykes, who flopped down into the chair next to Reid's.

"What was all that about?" Rossi enquired, watching how close Sykes scooted to Reid

"Huh? Oh... that..." Sykes sighed, resting her head wearily on the nervous looking brunettes shoulder, and describing what all the fuss had been.

"Just a woman claiming to be stalked... we had men posted outside her house at one point, but nothing happened, and she's known to be a little on the paranoid side"

"With good reason, perhaps?" Prentiss suggested as she slid between Sykes and Reid

"We don't know. There is no evidence to support stalking claims, besides, she's done a lot to protect herself. Alarms, dogs and the likes... unfortunately, we're just too short staffed at the moment to do much about it." she sighed "We have a murder case to solve. Not the ravings of a paranoid woman." She added irritably when she saw Reid's gaze rest upon the retreating figure of the woman. By now JJ had reappeared, and was also watching the curvy, long legged, dark haired woman pass before putting an array of foods in the centre of the table. Rather than waiting on a takeaway, she had decided to stop at a store and pick up an assortment of sandwiches, baked goods and treats which the entire team was grateful for. Sykes slipped around Emily so she was between Reid and Morgan, laying a hand on Reid's forearm and batting her eyelashes as he rambled off statistics

"59% of female victims and 30% of male stalking victims in North Carolina are stalked by an intimate partner. Sadly, 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner" the Lt scooted closer until she was practically on his lap, and if he were to look down he would have a full view of her pushed-up cleavage. Unfortunately for Spencer, he did glance down before quickly returning his line of sight to Rossi and Hotch, eyes begging for help from the shocked Alpha males.

"A-also 31% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also sexually assaulted by that partner" The team tried not to laugh at the awkwardness of the situation, whilst Hotch recovered from his initial disbelief "And the average duration of stalking is 1.8 years-"

"Lt Sykes is right. We're investigating a serial killer, not a stalker, Reid." Morgan stated through gritted teeth... not that he was angry, of course. "And Lt, maybe you should-"

"Come over here for a moment" Hotch came to Reid's aid "I need you to look over something." Sykes huffed before plastering a fake smile over her pretty face and slinking over to look at the open case file.

Meanwhile, Morgan was engrossed in his own thoughts. What was with the sudden changes in Reid? And Prentiss... could they be together? No... No, that was ridiculous. That would jeopardise the teams dynamics, not to mention risk their jobs. But that wasn't really what was getting to him... if it was Prentiss and Rossi, he'd be happy... hell, if it were Prentiss and anyone he'd be happy for them... so... why wouldn't he be happy for Reid?

'Because. He works too hard and loves this job to much for him to be putting everything on the line. Besides, there are a lot of people who would take advantage of him. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen.' When was this decided? When Reid got some fashion tips? …no. This ran deeper. Morgan was pretty sure he had always felt this way – always wanted to protect Reid, only, there had never been as much for Morgan to protect him from until now... Yes. That was it. Prentiss' accusations were ludicrous and uncalled for. All Morgan wanted was the same as everyone else on the team: to protect their youngest member from pain, hurt and heartbreak – all the things he had seen too much of already in the few years of life he had lived.

Morgan was so busy wrapped in his crude justifications that he hadn't noticed Hotch and JJ pack their sandwiches and take off, leaving only 5 of them in the room. Rossi was discussing theories behind the choice of dumpsites with Prentiss, and Sykes appeared to be almost literally drooling over Reid... and then he saw why.

Spencer was oblivious to the goings on around him, no doubt to wrapped up in the limitless fountain of knowledge that was his mind to care, a small pot of assorted fruits sat before him. A stray piece of rich brown hair was being brushed casually away as a round, blood red cherry was lifted to the full lips of Dr Spencer Reid, who sank his teeth into its tender flesh, tongue darting out to lick the juice from his lips and finger tips. He rang his tongue along the pip and sucked around the little cherry stone, removing it from the fruit before taking it slowly from his lips and popping the rest into his mouth, rolling his tongue around it before casually swallowing and picking up a peach slice. Rossi and Prentiss remained oblivious to the goings on, whilst two pairs of awed eyes rested on the youngest male whilst he slowly bit into the peach slice, allowing its juices to run down his finger tips before delicately sliding the slice between his lips. Prentiss' eyes drifted to Reid over Rossi's shoulder, and watched the young genius raise his index finger and run his tongue down from finger tip to palm, lapping the juices from his hand and sucking gently on each digit, tongue swirling around his thumb before lightly nibbling on it in deep thought.

Unable to take the confusion that Reid was driving into his mind, Morgan stood muttering something about going to the morgue. Sykes grudgingly followed whilst a bewildered Rossi wondered what he had missed and strode out of the room trying not to reveal any sign of the sulkiness he felt. Prentiss stared on as her friend turned to examine the geographic profile. For a moment she considered commenting, but was left speechless as the socially awkward, timid genius turned with a small, shy smile and said;

"So... uh... was that seductive enough to pass step two?"

"_**Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." ~Lao Tzu**_

-{\|/}-

_I wasn't going to end it there... but the story decided it had reached a nice close chapter point. Also, I couldn't find the quote I wanted T_T so I settled for this cute one from Lao Tzu :) Sorry it's so short... should I start making my chapters longer? Maybe I should stop worrying about wordcount and just update at whatever length the chapters wish to be? They look long on a word document, but not on the site lol. Well... I hope to update ASAP, as well as put a couple of new stories up :D In fact, I may make a list of what I'm working on in my profile... yes, I believe I shall. Well, wish me luck, and please review – it motivates me more ^_^_


	5. Morgan was never very good at Dot ToDots

_Well... Here it is at last! It's slightly longer than the others, but I hope it doesn't lack quality :) You know the drill, my friends. Read. Enjoy. Review! Reviews encourage me to write more ^_^ Oh, and, obviously, I do not own Criminal Minds. Come on. If I did, there would be more intricate character plots and smut._

~}{|"|}{~

"_**When love is not madness, it is not love" ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca**_

The team had spent 5 gruelling days working the case and releasing the preliminary profile, which stated that they were looking for a black male between 25 and 40, well built, and unemployed or working a job that allows him time to stalk his victims. But still they all felt they were missing something, the one piece of the puzzle that makes every piece of the profile slide together, and the case make sense.

"Maybe you should call it a night." Lt Sykes suggested, a hand resting between Reid's shoulder blades.

"Then in the morning we can look again, with fresh eyes." Rossi agreed, directing his reasoning at Hotch, who nodded wearily and dismissed everyone.

"So... Spencer..." Sykes smiled, like a predator that had it's prey trapped between it's claws "I don't want to be too... far from the case... is their room in your hotel room for one more?" Frowning slightly, Reid turned his tired eyes to rest on Sykes

"I highly doubt it. I'm sharing a room with Morgan. Besides, I'm sure there are some spare station beds for you." Morgan and Emily waited in the doorway, watching in amusement as Sykes' expression began turning from lustful predator to exasperated aggravation.

"Well... then maybe you could stay with me?"

"No thanks. My go-bag is at the hotel. Besides, I doubt I'll be able to sleep there." The predator grin returned.

"Who says we have to sleep?" Emily nearly choked at the blatant proposition, and Morgan felt himself about to walk over and-

"Well, I can't think of anything else worth doing." Reid yawned carelessly, pulling away from Sykes' shocked grasp and walking out to the SUV, followed by a beaming Prentiss.

"Except, maybe, one Derek Morgan." She whispered, sliding into the front passenger seat whilst Reid was frozen in place.

"Emily! I... uh... well... I..." he stuttered, trying to calm himself, but his blush only intensified when the object of his desires appeared behind him.

"You gonna get in, Pretty Boy, or do I have to put you in myself?" Morgan couldn't recall ever seeing anyone move as fast as Reid did as the young genius scrambled into the SUV, slamming the door shut and burying his face in his rolled up coat.

"...Must be tired." he commented, taking his place in the drivers seat.

"Yeah... must be" Prentiss coughed out between muffled giggles. Shrugging off the ever present feeling that he was missing something, Morgan started the car and took off in the direction of the hotel.

~}{|"|}{~

In Morgan's opinion, whoever invented the alarm clock should be shot.

'Reid would know who invented the alarm clock... hell, he would know when he lived, when he invented it, when he died and everything inbetween...' sighing, he rolled over and that was when he realised... it wasn't the alarm clock. They had another half hour or more before they had to be up... so why was Reid dressed and slipping out of the door? ...Was that Prentiss' voice? Morgan found he was no longer tired. He was too busy to sleep. Too busy battling with himself in his head as to why his heart is telling him to protect Reid from Prentiss... because that was all he wanted to do. Protect Reid. But...

'Why do I want him to stay away from _Prentiss_?'

~}{|"|}{~

"This had better be good, Emily." Reid grumbled, dropping his messenger bag onto one of the empty chairs. The hotel breakfast room was almost empty, except for an old man reading a newspaper, a lady in her 40's drinking tea in the corner, and a young lady using the hotel computer.

"Of course it is. Garcia has prepared Step 3." Reid groaned, and Prentiss tried not to laugh when he instantly perked up upon having a cup of coffee placed in front of him.

"Step 3?" She nodded

"And I'm going to help prepare you." hearing this, Reid's eyes widened and darted to Prentiss, fearing for life, his job, and, above all, his sanity.

"Relax, Spencer. It's nothing... _bad_... much..."

"Much?"

"It's Innuendos and Subtle pick up lines." Spencer stared in disbelief

"...Come again?"

"Just like that" Emily smiled, thinking that perhaps this wouldn't be as difficult as she and Garcia first thought.

"Like what? I was asking you to repeat what you said because I am severely hoping I did not hear right." Or maybe it would be.

"Come on, Reid... it really isn't that hard, it's just a matter of timing them so they're not out of place, but enough to get Morgan confused and picking up on the sexual hints."

"...We're-"

"And Garcia told me to tell you that if you try the 'we're on a case' excuse one more time she will use your name and details to buy things from the Sex Shop and post the receipt to Morgan with an invite to your place."

"Sh-sh-she w-what?" Prentiss immediately regretted the joke when she saw how pale Reid suddenly grew, and quickly took back her threat before he had a heart attack.

"I was just kidding! But... she did say she would steal your kittens."

"..." She wasn't sure, but Emily could have sworn she heard Reid mumble that he would prefer the first punishment...

"Ok... well. Hit me with your best lines. Come on. Try it."

"Uh... how about... you're like a dictionary – you add meaning to my life." She just looked at him, trying to decide whether his choice of line was sweet or geeky "No? ...uh ...you're hotter than a Bunsen burner set to full power?" Now that was geeky.

"Is that all you've got?" Prentiss asked, fearing for the success rate of Step 3. Reid smiled shyly as she face palmed and got up to go for another coffee.

"...Emily?... If you were a library book, I'd check you out..." Shaking her head, Prentiss went for coffee, only to come back to see the old man standing by Reid and talking to him in a low voice that she couldn't quite work out. When she reached the table the talking had stopped and the man merely smiled, bid her good day and walked off out of the room.

"What was all that about?"

"Nothing." Reid smiled innocently "But you know: if I received a nickel for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you... I'd have five cents." Emily couldn't help but giggle.

"The old man give you advice?" he nodded, a faint blush dusting his cheeks "Well... no offense, but as slightly cute as your lines are, they're a little... out of date..."

"How can a line be out of date?"

"Never mind... just... you know what, I'm going to call Garcia so we can rethink Step 3. Ok?" Before another word could be said, a tall shadow was cast over the pair.

"You're up early" Hotch stated, slipping into one of the vacant seats, a move that the rest of the team soon copied. They ate and discussed small details of the case before getting ready to set off. Rossi saw a woman in her 40's out of the corner of his eye approaching their table, and turned to talk to her, but he could only stand there, mouth agape, as she leant close to Reid, whispered something in his ear that made him blush several shades of red, slid a piece of paper into his pocket and slipped off.

"Well... that was... different..." Hotch managed to choke out, before the girl at the computer walked past and, much more subtly, dropped a folded piece of paper with her name, phone number and room number into Reid's lap, making his just calmed blush return with a vengeance.

He stared long and hard, taking in every exact detail and committing it to the depths of his memory. Every colour, every sound, every movement was laid down in his mind... but the facts remained the same. He was his best friend. His _straight_best friend. And he himself was also decidedly straight. Right? Besides, even if there was some doubt about his sexuality – which there wasn't – surely he would have better taste than the lanky, awkward, socially inept genius Dr Spencer Reid. So... what was it that was confusing Morgan so much? Morgan sighed. It didn't matter. He had a case to think about.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Prentiss enquired. Only then did the male realise he had been left sitting at the table with Prentiss... and Reid. He shook his head, not wanting to discuss it at all, let alone with Prentiss.

"Is everything ok, Morgan?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Morgan snapped at Reid, before correcting himself under Prentiss' stern glare and Reid's taken back look "Sorry... just... got a lot on my mind, I guess..."

"If you want to talk about it, I'll listen" the genius offered, in such a tone that Morgan's anger just melted away

"We should get going..." the dark male rose to his feet, his co workers copying the gesture "...Maybe later, Reid... if you have the time?"

"Sure" Reid smiled "I always have the time, as long as you have the energy." he stated, walking out towards the SUV. Morgan stood in shock, unsure of how to take a comment that sounded so much like a proposition, and it didn't help that Prentiss was grinning as if she was savvy to an unsaid punchline. Deciding it was best to ignore the innuendo in Reid's comment, he followed his co workers out and drove with them to the police station...

~}{|"|}{~

"' I always have the time, as long as you have the energy'? Really, Reid?" Prentiss grinned, happy that Reid was getting the hang of Step 4.

"Huh? Well... yeah... I mean, work can be really tiring, so he may just want to sleep or not really feel like talking. Why?" Or maybe... maybe he wasn't...

'Maybe he doesn't realise he's doing it... hmm...' Smiling, Emily just patted Reid on the back and turned to look at the geographic profile. The rest of the team still weren't back from interviewing the victims families, so Prentiss, Morgan and Reid had hung about the station manning the tip lines and working the kinks out of the profiles. When Morgan returned to the room, he was bearing gifts – three large coffees on a plastic tray which he carried with both hands, whilst talking animately with Lt Sykes. His large brown eyes drawn to the steaming cups, Reid waited with limited patience as Morgan closed the door behind him and the Lt and stood with the tray, as if forgetting he was carrying it. Lt Sykes grinned flirtily across the room, but the brunettes eyes remained on the tray as he cleared his throat to get the darker males attention. Morgan, however, was fixed on telling Sykes whatever it was he was telling her, and Reid was getting visibly frustrated. Slinking across the room, the caffeine-starved genius made a grab for one of the coffee cups, only for the tray to be moved just out of his reach. For once, surprisingly, Morgan wasn't moving it on purpose – he was oblivious to everyone but Sykes, and was moving the tray between his animated hands as he spoke. The young agent made several grabs for his life-giving coffee, to no avail, before stomping his foot childishly and releasing an agitated breath. Emily tried not to laugh at how cute Reid looked riled up, and Sykes looked like she was about to squeal. Finally Morgan noticed Reid, who stood a mere couple of centimetres from the older agent.

"Uh... Reid? ...what are you doing?" Blatantly counting to ten in his head and taking deep breaths, Reid smiled sarcastically.

"I decided I wanted to stare at you up close, rather than staring at you from across the room. What else did you think I was doing?" The other three remained in speechless silence as the irritable genius grabbed a cup and sat cradling the dark liquid. Morgan's thoughts were racing – he thought Reid looked cute like that... but he was also cursing himself for the way he was acting. This was the second time Spen- _Reid_had said something that had nearly made him blush. The second time he has mustered every last bit of self control he had not to say something flirty back... because he knew Reid didn't mean it like that. He also knew that he was. Not. Gay.

"Uh... Pretty Boy?" _He was NOT gay._ Morgan repeated to himself as he slipped the cup out of Reid's hands and replaced it with a larger one. "That one's yours." And, just because he knew exactly how Reid liked his coffee, exactly how large to make the coffee and exactly which biscuits Reid liked with his morning coffee, didn't mean he was gay, and _didn't _mean he was in love with Spencer- _Reid_!

"Thanks..." _Damn it, Pretty Boy... what's going on with me?Hell, what's going on with you?_ Though he hated to admit it, Morgan finally realised that he had been to caught up in his meaningless flirting with Sykes and his own inner turmoil to realise sooner that Reid had not been acting like himself lately. _Some best friend you are..._ Because that was what he was. Reid's best friend. _And that is all I will ever be._ Because neither of them were gay. Fact... right?

The rest of the team appeared around 10am, looking about ready to drop.

"Rough interviews?" Prentiss queried, only to be answered with three exhausted glares. "O-K then..." The team sat and discussed their findings for what seemed like the millionth time that week, resulting only in further increasing their agitation. Recognising the tension, Hotch called a break before they split up to head out again, and they all drained out to the break room. Emily made a coffee for herself, and one for JJ, and the two girls went back to the conference room with Rossi and Hotch, who had been promised by Reid that he would deliver their precious drinks when the coffee machine was refilled. Watching as the rest of the team left, Morgan decided that the opportune moment had come to pull Reid up on his strange behaviour. If only he had been a patient man...

"Hey, Reid? Is everything ok with you?" Not looking up from the machine, Reid nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well... it's just... you've been acting a bit... different... lately. You know, with the makeover and the changes in behaviour and all that. I doubt I'm the only one that's noticed..."

'_Damn! He knows... what if he's figured it out? Oh god... he's going to HATE me!'_

"I don't know what you're talking about, Morgan. Everything is _fine_." the young brunette stated, averting his eyes away from Morgan so he could concentrate on pouring the milk.

"If you're sure..." Reid let out a sigh of relief as the subject began to drop. But he wasn't that lucky. "Hey, wait a sec... is it a girl?"

"What?"

"You've changed your clothes, your behaviour andyou've been ignoring Sykes' advances. My man has got himself a woman, hasn't he?" Morgan tried desperately to ignore the feeling of relief wash over him as his young friend fervently shot down the remark. "Not a woman?"

"No!"

"Then what is it?" Reid immediately identified his mistake in justifying the elder man with an any kind of answer. He was being interrogated into submission.

"Nothing..."

"Pretty Boy, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"It's _nothing_, Morgan!"

"Reid. Now I _know_something is wrong. Tell me."

"No."

"Reid."

"No!"

"Spencer!"

"Morgan!"

"Come on!"

"No! I will not expose myself to your probing!" Morgan opened his mouth to reply, immediately shutting it again to stop himself from saying something dirty. That's when he noticed something: an equally shocked Hotch was standing in the door way.

"Hotch... it's not what it sounds like-"

"I think you'd better take your coffee to go and come with me to the morgue, Morgan." Hotch said in his best dont-argue-we'll-talk-about-this-in-the-SUV tone. The darker male just nodded and quickly left for the car, followed by the unit chief. Reid let out the breath he was holding, silently thanking Hotch for his intervention, and went to sit in the empty conference room.

~}{|"|}{~

"He's cute."

"His eyes are weird."

"What about him?"

"He is cute. Is that an egg on his face, or his nose?"

"Reid!" Emily giggled, turning the page of the magazine. They had decided a break would help them look at the profile with fresh eyes later, so Prentiss had found some magazines full of hot male and female models to look at in the mean time. When she rose to get some water, Reid found himself flicking lazily through one of the magazines and thinking about Morgan.

'_That one's cute... he has Derek's eyes... page 8 is hot... his chest is muscular... like Derek's... Argh! I'm acting like a lovesick teenager! Still... if I cut out a feature from each of these models, they'd go together to make the Derek. The perfect model.' _Spencer couldn't help but smile at this thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, my thoughts are worth a lot more than that at the moment." He grinned, taking the glass that was offered to him.

"Thinking of Mr. C?" That was Emily's undercover nickname for Morgan. Mr. C- like Mr. T, but short for Mr. Chocolate. Or Mr. Chocolate God.

"I was just thinking... you could make a collage by cutting-" Wait... a collage... that was it! "Emily!" Prentiss snapped to attention

"What?"

"Phone Hotch and get the others back here. And where are the case files? I need copies of the pictures of the victims. And scissors! I need scissors and glue and a piece of A3 plain paper and-"

"Reid?"

"-In fact, you just phone Hotch and get me the copies please, I'll get the scissors, glue and paper-"

"Reid! What's going on?"

"The profile's wrong! And I think I know why..."

_**"I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections, Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling, Or just after" ~Wallace Stevens**_

_~}{|"|}{~_

_Well... there it is... please please PLEASE review! I REALLY need to know how I'm doing here, or whether I should give up?_


	6. Dancing With Danger

_TMH Chapter 5: Dancing with Danger_

_Sorry it took so long! Ok, I have had 4 private messages telling me that my chapters have been sloppy, and a few other criticisms. I can accept constructive criticism, but these messages over stepped the mark and are just plain rude and hurtful. As such, I am afraid that unless I get some fairly detailed feedback from people saying what needs working on, what you like, what you think about how the characters are portrayed or whatever other comments you have then I really will have to discontinue this story. On a brighter note, thank you everyone else for being so patient and I am glad that most people are enjoying this story. I really really am sorry for considering basing my decision upon such a minority, but the comments left were depressing and an unneeded aggrivation to what is already a hard time for me at the moment._

_This chapter jumps around, but I hope you are able to follow. If not, I will do my best to edit through and make it easier. Please excuse any mistakes, I am un-beta'd and wrote most of this in the haze of extreme tiredness._

_Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy and review x_

~#}"|"{#~

**_"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance." ~Japanese Proverb_**

The team fidgeted irritably as they waited for Reid to explain to them what was so urgent that they had all been ushered into the conference room without so much as a second to get a drink or call the families they had arranged to visit to say that they would be late.

"Wait… are they the victims' photos that he is cutting up!"

"No."

"Good…"

"They're _copies _of the victims' photos." JJ glared at Prentiss, and Rossi looked less than impressed. He didn't like not knowing what was going on and, to be honest, neither did Hotch. Morgan stayed silent, thinking about the morning's events, and the conversation he had had with Hotch…

~#}""{#~FLASHBACK~#}""{#~

_Morgan stepped obediently into the passenger seat of the SUV, opening and closing his fist somewhat nervously as he saw the other SUV drive off and realised that it was only him and his boss taking this car._

_"Hotch, I can explain-"_

_"Can you?" The reply was blunt and felt like a bullet to the chest as Morgan suddenly came to the conclusion that he couldn't explain. He had no idea what had gone on that morning, and that only increased his agitation._

_"It wasn't what it sounded like-"_

_"We're not discussing it, Morgan." It was one of those moments where Morgan honestly believed a punch in the face would be better._

_'Not discussing it? Then why did he order me to leave the station? Better yet, why is no one else in the car?'_

_"You mean… it didn't happen?"_

_"I don't think there is any doubt that something happened. I'm not quite sure what, and by the look of it you aren't either. I'm just saying that we're not discussing it. We're in the middle of a case."_

_"Then why did you-"_

_"Morgan. As your friend, I am suggesting that you take some time after this case to gather your thoughts and find out what's 'going on'. Until then, as your boss, I am telling you that you are to stay out in the field as my back up instead of at the station with Reid. Understood?" The darker male nodded, still unsure of what his unit chief was trying to tell him… truth be told, even Hotch seemed unsure of what he was saying. In fact, what Morgan did not know was that underneath that cold stare his thoughts were exploding like a volcano, erupting around his mind and smothering all rational, unit-chief thoughts in a thick black smog. But he knew how he would fix that…_

~#}""{#~FLASHBACK END~#}""{#~

Rossi cleared his throat, brining Morgan back out of his thoughts and causing Emily to roll her eyes.  
"Are you going to tell us why we're here now?" Reid stood, gathering the cut up pieces of paper and pinning a human outline to the board.

"I believe we've been looking at this from the wrong angle" Reid stated "We've been looking at it as a regular homicide."

"And it isn't?" Morgan asked dismissively, to which he wasn't given an answer or even a glance.

"The murder isn't what our UnSub is focussed on. In fact, it is almost irrelevant."

"Irrelevant? But he takes trophies, Reid. That doesn't suggest disorganisation or sociopathic behaviour."

"I agree." Reid relaxed, happy that someone was taking an interest in his findings, and that someone was Hotch. "It doesn't, but neither does it fit entirely into an organised behaviour pattern… at least, not at first glance." The team sub consciously leaned forward, intrigued by what the young genius was saying, and frustrated that they themselves did not yet understand. "I have a friend who is in a similar line of work. We met up a couple of weeks ago and had a bit of a debate… any way, the reason we get into such debates is because my way of thinking is very logical, whereas his is the complete opposite. He is creative and can seem to me to be a bit on the insane side, but something he said got me thinking. He said that he is seen by his boss as being both one of the most and least reliable agents in his team. That's because he has a tendency to see patterns in everything, to notice the tiny details that would seem insignificant to anyone else." He took a moment to make sure he was staying on track before continuing, whilst the rest of the team tried not to look astonished at the fact Reid was talking about a 'friend' they had never heard of before. "So when I noticed something about each of the victims, I tried to think like he would."

"Make connections that may not really be there? That's pretty dangerous, Reid."

"I know… but I must have got lucky. Because this is what I found." Turning, Reid stuck each of the cut out body parts – the body parts that had been removed by the UnSub – and stuck them to the human outline. The team continued to watch blankly, still not understanding what Reid was getting at. Then Emily gasped, looking down at an A4 sheet she had in her hands.

"No way…" Stepping forward, Emily pinned the paper next to Reid's collage. It was a picture of the woman they had seen previously, the one that had complained of being stalked…

"Christine Sheppard… but… she's white… I mean, she doesn't fit the victimology or anything." JJ frowned

"No, she doesn't." Reid agreed "The victimology fits _her_. I believe we're actually looking for a white male, same age range, racist and a stalker. He sees black women with similar features to the object of his delusions and feels the need to remove those features, and then he either dumps them or keeps them for sexual gratification…"

"But they're no substitute for the real thing…" Emily finished, eyes wide "He's been getting more confident _and_ decreasing his kills… not because of the pressure but,"

"Because he's going after Miss Sheppard." Hotch growled as everything clicked into place "Sykes, get a S.W.A.T team to Miss Sheppard's address immediately. Everyone else; with me." The team sprang into action, silently praying that they didn't make their discovery too late…

When the team reached the house, it seemed empty. They split, Rossi, Hotch and Morgan checked inside whilst Reid and Emily searched the perimeter. It was when Morgan walked out of the back door into the vast garden that the UnSub saw him… But Morgan didn't see the knife until it was too late. Roaring furiously, a white male around 35 years old with messy blonde hair leapt at the dark male, yelling about how 'his kind' were 'animals' and swung the knife in a full arc that would have slashed the shocked mans chest clean open, had there not been an obstacle in the way. Spencer Reid collapsed to the floor, staring in horror at the blade handle the protruded from his chest. The young genius's blood ran over his friend's chest and hands as Morgan tried to move him, but the UnSub tackled him to the floor, repeatedly punching him in the gut. Enraged, Morgan threw the man off of him, sending the blonde hurtling into a tree before crashing against the trunk. Wasting no time, Morgan crawled over to his injured friend, and his thoughts coursed like a storm into one, final, horrendously timed realisation: He was in love. Everything he had said, everything he had done, had been one big cover up. By making excuses he had been able to justify that what he did not recognize, those feelings he couldn't understand, into being what he was familiar with, rather that venturing into the unknown. Not anymore.

"Reid… Spencer… stay with me, man, you hear me?"

"I… I'm fine, Morgan… I feel fine-"

"Don't give me that, Spence… You need to pull through this, ok? And… and I need you to know… I need you to know that I'm sorry… and that I love-" Pain seared through Morgan's skull as wood and flesh collided, and his limp body slumped onto Reid's bleeding chest... The UnSub laughed as he took Morgan's gun and put it against the back of then black man's skull his finger resting on the trigger…

~#}""{#~

Reid smiled happily at Garcia, who stood next to Esther waiting for him. He was glad to finally be out of the hospital. He didn't see why he had had to spend 3 days there for such a minor wound, but the team had ensured he wasn't able to sign himself out… sliding into Garcia's cherished car, he found his mind turning to the memory of Morgan and Sykes…

~#}""{#~FLASHBACK~#}""{#~

_A shot rang out and the UnSub rolled, screeching in pain as Emily lowered her gun and called for back up and paramedics. Once at the hospital everything calmed down. Morgan would be fine and, to the team's relief, Reid would be to. The knife had been broken, so it hadn't gone in as far as they had thought and hit a rib rather than an organ. Once he was allowed to get up, Reid went and paid a visit to Morgan's room, his chest feeling constricted – and not just from the bandages. His grin was bright and happy as he slid into his friend's hospital room, but quickly faded as he saw Sykes sitting there. He heard her giggle as Morgan murmured something that sounded criminally like 'I Love You' into her ear, and felt both anger and sadness rising in his throat. Sykes left a few minutes before Morgan woke, which the young genius was infinitely glad for, and he found himself standing by the injured mans bed asking what he had been about to say before he had been knocked out. Morgan stared for a moment before replying_

_"I have no idea… Seriously, Pretty Boy, I can't remember being about to say anything, so it can't have been anything important." Disheartened, Reid just went back to his room, taking no visitors until it was time to leave._

~#}""{#~FLASHBACK END~#}""{#~

"That's why you wouldn't let anyone visit you?" Garcia cried incredulously "We were all so worried about you! Ooh, that Morgan, I ought to-"

"It's fine, Penelope. I'm ok… I just need to go home and-"

"Home? But darling, everyone's waiting for you at the bar!"

"Huh?" Garcia explained that the team had planned an evening at their favourite bar to relax and see him, and, as always, she said it in such a way that he just couldn't say no.

"First you can go home and see your pretty little fluff balls and get changed, then you can ride with me."

"Fluff balls?"

"Yes. Is there a problem with them being called fluff balls?"

"No. I've heard them called stranger things."

"Really? Like what?"

"Devilettes, hairy bundles, gremlin babies, fuzz lumps, mini monsters… the list is endless…"

"Where did you get all those from?" Garcia chuckled

"My friend, Timura. I swear he just calls them whatever comes into his head at the time… his favourite is 'fuzz lumps'."

"Fuzz lumps?" She liked the sound of that, and grinned at Spencer, who couldn't help but burst out laughing and praying that Timura and Garcia would never meet. The world would not cope.

It didn't take long for Reid to greet his cat and kittens and change into a pair of jeans and a black button up shirt that had a beautiful picture of an elegant Chinese dragon across the back, it's tail trailing off down his right sleeve.

"Ready" he announced, his smile widening as Garcia turned from fussing Anita to stare at him jaw dropped.

"Spencer… wow… oh my god…"

"Penelope?" The young genius sprang to his friend's side as tears pricked at her eyes "Is something wrong?"

"My baby is all grown up!"

"Garcia!" The eccentric blonde threw her arms around Reid and drew him up into a tight hug

"You look amazing, Spencer. Really." Astonished, the young man stayed silent as his friend dried her tears "Now come on. We have a blind chocolate god to impress."

"Garcia…"

"None of that, darling. Step four is now in action: you are to continue previous steps to flirt with Morgan, but you can not at any cost dance with him or accept a drink from him."

"Huh?" Before any questions could be asked, Spencer found himself once again ushered into 'Esther' and on his way to face the object of his desires…

When they finally reached the bar, the others were all already there and in mid conversation which was interrupted by the glamorous Garcia's entry to the table.

"Where's Pretty Boy?" Morgan grinned, drinking his beer and glancing over the room

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" The optimistic blonde smiled "He went to get drinks." As if on queue, Spencer put Penelope's lager and his own lemonade down on the table.

"You didn't specify what it is you wanted, but this is what you had last time, so-" suddenly he became aware of his teams stares resting upon him. "Is… something wrong?"

"Not at all…" Hotch coughed, trying to avert everyone's attention back to the previous conversation. Emily smiled, remembering the conversation she had with Hotch a couple of days before…

~#}""{#~FLASHBACK~#}""{#~

_"Prentiss, can I have a word with you?" Emily looked up from her file before following the unit chief into one of the empty offices._

_"Is something wrong, sir?"_

_"…I have a question, and I need you to answer it with full honesty." Prentiss frowned, wondering what could be so important that Hotch would take time out of the case to ask her about it._

_"If it's about what happened between Morgan and Reid in the break room, sir, I assure you I have no idea what-"_

_"Is Reid attracted to Morgan?" taken back by the question, she just looked at her boss, unsure of how to answer. "Emily… I need to know if Spencer is attracted to Derek." The use of first names startled her further, sending her mind into a double take and forcing an answer before she could think about what she was saying._

_"No… Spencer is in love with Derek." The older profiler nodded, pausing briefly_

_"And you and Garcia are trying to get Derek to open his eyes and see that he returns Spencer's feelings?"_

_"…yes…"_

_"Ok. Count me in." She thought her head would burst then and there, aliens would invade, pink bunnies would take over the white house, she would be sent into an asylum-_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Count me in. After this case is over, of course, but nonetheless, I'll do whatever I can to help."_

_"…really?"_

_"No need to sound surprised. They deserve to be happy, and I know they won't let anything interfere with their work. They're good for each other. Now… come on. We have a case to solve." And so Emily Prentiss, for the first time she could remember, was left standing dumb struck and speechless as her mind tried to catch up with what had just been said. But once it had, she could have sworn she remembered seeing a ghost of a smile on her boss's lips as he went to rejoin the others in the conference room._

~#}""{#~FLASHBACK END~#}""{#~

"Excuse me, care to dance?" Prentiss jumped from her thoughts as Morgan barked out a gruff laugh as a man with scruffy black hair and a goatee asked Reid to the dance floor. Remembering Garcia's fourth step, Spencer shot a glare at his laughing co worker before accepting the offer and allowing himself to be led off to dance, smiling as Derek choked on his beer.

It was official. He, Derek Morgan, had had too much to drink. There was no way that Pretty – Spencer –_Reid_ could dance like that… there was no way that the young, socially inept, babbling genius could pull around 10 girls and 7 guys in only an hour and a half. And there was _no way **at all**_ that he, Derek Morgan, was jealous. No way whatsoever.

"Are you ok, Derek? You haven't touched your second beer for over half an hour." Aaron was right. He hadn't. And he wasn't drunk. And Spencer – _Reid_ – _had_ pulled that many people, none of which had been bad looking either. But no, he was _not _jealous. He was… angry. Yes, angry. At Reid. For dancing with so many potential dangers and putting himself at risk.

"I'm fine…" Not to mention every time _he_ had asked him dance, Reid had refused. Not that he wanted to dance with Reid; of course, it was just the safer option. Seeing the umpteenth person stare directly at his best friend's ass, and the seventeenth woman smack it cheekily, Morgan decided he had had enough. Standing, he paid for his round of drinks and went to collect Reid, accepting no protests as he dragged the young male from the bar and bundled him into his car.

"Derek, what are you-"

"We're leaving."

"What about my coat-"

"I have it." The young brunette fell silent, watching his agitated co worker carefully whilst trying to read what he was feeling. Had the plan worked? Hating the drawn out silence, he decided it was now or never.

"Is something wrong, Derek?"

"No."

"Good… because there's something I need to tell you."

"Really?"

"I-" The car screeched to a halt in one of the hard shoulders lining the road.

"Well?" Maybe he had made a mistake.

"I…w-well I… I wanted to tell you…"

"Why you were making such a show of yourself?"

"That I- wait… what!"

"Perhaps you were going to tell me why you were flaunting yourself to all those strangers? Why you were letting them stare at you like a slab of meat-"

"I can't control how people look at me, Derek-"

"You were enjoying it!" Not only was Spencer getting angry from how the older male was reacting, but he was beginning to grow scared of how Morgan's anger was escalating

"I was having fun. It's nice to be appreciated-"

"Appreciated? They weren't 'appreciating' you; they were waiting to bed you! Would you have let them?"

"No, even though I don't think it's any of your business who I chose to sleep with, I would not have-"

"None of my business? Someone had to make it their business to stop you from advertising yourself like a common-" Everything fell still. Silence loomed over the pair as Morgan's senses caught up with his rage, and Spencer's betrayed gaze awoke him to what he had said. But before another word could be spoken, the young, hurt male snatched his coat from the back seat, darted out of the car, slamming the door shut, and disappeared down the dark streets towards his apartment complex. All of the elder male's thoughts had left him. He was empty. Alone. All he could do was restart the car, pull back out onto the road, and drive.

They knew. He knew that it was all to do with chemical secretions of the body, but he didn't care. The bottom line was that they knew, and they wouldn't hurt him. After shakily making himself a cup of cocoa, Spencer curled on his sofa with his four kittens, allowing a minute smile as Rosalyn licked the tears from his face, and Louis curled up on his stomach. Even Orville and Wilbur calmed down; each taking a shoulder to lounge across so that they could nuzzle his cheek and Orville could nibble his ear. He was just beginning to get settled when a knock on the door alerted him to his current state: tear streaked, dishevelled and covered in kittens. Carefully removing them from his body and placing them on the sofa, Reid warily approached the door, sliding on the chain and picking up his gun before answering…  
"Spencer?"

~#}""{#~

Hotch frowned as he looked down in to the bullpen. Everyone except Reid was there. He made a mental note to interrogate Morgan, or rather, have Garcia interrogate Morgan, about what happened after they left the bar, and went to phone the missing genius, only for Spencer's name to appear on the caller ID, and he answered with an eerie feeling of something being out of place…

"Hotch?" Spencer tried to calm his emotions, hoping that no questions would be asked as he stated "I'd like to take a personal day today… I think you'll find I have one spare." He had more than one spare. He had a whole year's worth spare.

"Of course. Reid if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to-"

"Ask. I know, Hotch. Thanks." He hung up quickly, but daren't move from his arm chair. Instead, he laid the phone down on the table, wiped away his silent tears, and turned to face the person standing in the kitchen doorway…

**_"If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever." ~The Crow (1994)_**

_Again, thank you for reading, please dont hesitate to review. I probably will be continung this story, despite what I said in the begining, for the sheer pleasure **I**__ get from writing it. If anyone has a problem with this, please, keep it to yourself. For my more friendly readers, I will be eagerly awaiting to hear from you :)_


	7. Insight To A Troubled Mind

_Well, here is the new chapter. Short, I know, slow to be updated, I know… and I have many excuses, but I wont bore you with the details of my obstacles right now (feel free to ask) because that isn't what you're here for, ne? I would however like to take this opportunity to sincerely think EVERYONE that reviewed! Unfortunately I can't list everyone's names, but you know who you are, and you are my inspiration to keep writing =) Thank you so much! Also, I'd like to mention debussy88. She gave me some fantastic advice on how to improve my written style, and I hope that in time, when I manage to master this advice, you will all reap the benefits whilst reading my work =) Well, without further ado, Read, Enjoy, Review!_

\/~#~\/

Hotch frowned as he looked down in to the bullpen. Everyone except Reid was there. He made a mental note to interrogate Morgan, or rather, have Garcia interrogate Morgan, about what happened after they left the bar, and went to phone the missing genius, only for Spencer's name to appear on the caller ID, and he answered with an eerie feeling of something being out of place…

"Hotch?" Spencer tried to calm his emotions, hoping that no questions would be asked as he stated "I'd like to take a personal day today… I think you'll find I have one spare." He had more than one spare. He had a whole year's worth spare.

"Of course. Reid if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to-"

"Ask. I know, Hotch. Thanks." He hung up quickly, but daren't move from his arm chair. Instead, he laid the phone down on the table, wiped away his silent tears, and turned to face the person standing in the kitchen doorway…

\/~#~\/

"_**The sorrow which has no vent in tears may make other organs weep." ~Henry Maudsley**_

The brunette sat in his chair, trying his best to hold back the sobs that were threatening to take hold once more. The man in the doorway came forward, circling the arm chair and kneeling in front of Spencer, holding his wrists down and looking up into his eyes.

"Spencer… please… just let it all out, ok? She was part of your family. It isn't a crime to mourn her." The words were gentle but firm, the same as the embrace that the young genius had been pulled into as he buried his face in the other mans neck, not even bothering to brush his shoulder length black hair out of the way as he did so.

"You… don't think I'm being silly?"

"Of course not, Spencer." He whispered gently, combing his fingers through his friends hair.

"But… but she was a _cat,_ Timura!"

"Yes, she was a cat. But she was also the one you rescued from a cat shelter. The one you came home to everyday. The one who never judged you, never argued with you or insulted you. She was the one who listened to all your problems, all the deepest, darkest secrets you couldn't bear to tell anyone else, and the one you knew would never walk away from your affection. There is no shame in mourning her." Spencer nodded and, although he still felt silly, he cried. He cried for what had happened with Morgan. For the loss of a dear friend, Anita. And for feeling so weak and pathetic. The week had been hectic, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up with his kittens and pretend he didn't exist, losing himself in warm fur and epic tales of times long since passed… as if reading his mind, Timura spoke "I'm going to make you something to eat and drink, then we'll talk ok? I know you want to be left to deal with it by yourself, but I also know it'll just weigh you down." Silence was the only answer Timura received, but it was also the only answer he needed. Anything that wasn't an outright protest was a good sign. So the grieving brunette was left in his arm chair as his friend went to prepare some small morsel to sustain him until the morning. When Timura returned with the meal, the pair chatted for a while until Reid finally divulged the details of his current love interest, and the reason he had been so depressed even before Anita's death. Unfortunately his friend couldn't even pretend to understand what was going through the young genius' mind. How _dare_ anyone hurt Spencer like that! Barely keeping his rage under control, Timura's words were strained and said through gritted teeth

"So… after everything he has put you through… Spencer, how can you still love him?" Spencer looked up at Timura as if he had just asked the simplest question in the world but, seeing his queries was genuine, he began to tell his friend about all the moments he had shared with Morgan, all the times the man had been there for him, saved him, scared him… and Timura let him ramble on. Because the older male had stopped listening to the words, and was now staring into the gateways of Spencer's soul. It was as if all the sparkling matter of the galaxy had crashed together in Spencer's eyes, marking the birth of a new star which, if it were in the sky, would be the biggest and brightest putting even Polaris to shame. It was a spark Timura had never seen before in those brown pools that so often looked so lost. The young genius had never thought of someone in this way before – never fallen as hard, never spoken so highly of someone who had hurt him. Timura wouldn't say it was like Romeo and Juliet – for one, Juliet was female. Secondly, the story of Romeo and Juliet disturbed him somewhat… no, this was something different. This was a loving mutual relationship, a caring friendship built up over time, the building blocks of a golden staircase of which Spencer had climbed and found himself on this beautiful high. A high he could only reach with Derek Morgan's name. And there was something gorgeous about it… something absolutely divine, this shimmer of hope that held together pieces of a heart that had been shattered far too many times. Part of him wished that he could tell Spencer how he looked, but it was not something that could be captured by even the most skilled artist or fantastical poetry. No, he could not tell him. All he could do was offer a simple smile, hoping that it would sum up his new understanding and fresh outlook on his friend's feelings. His gesture must have been well received, as Spencer's voice faded into a dreamy sigh as he returned the smile. No more words were needed.

As the dark haired man left later that evening, only one single thought plagued his mind. The wish that however this 'Morgan' felt, whether Spencer's love was mutual or unrequited, whatever the outcome, it would bare its head soon. Because that was the only was Spencer was going to be able to move on. One thing was sure, and nothing surer: for as long as Spencer held the hope his love could be returned, his hope would trap him in the confines of his dreams and, as pure and inspiring as that was, it could also turn out to be a horrific tragedy.

\/~#~\/

"You said WHAT to my baby!" Morgan dived to left as a wooden spoon flew at his head, scarcely missing his ear. His chest, however, was not so lucky as he had slid directly into the path of a flying fork.

"I know, I was stupid, I shouldn't have said anything!"

"Damn right!" More objects shot towards the male as he cautiously tried to approach the infuriated Penelope Garcia.

"Penelope, I don't know what to do… I never meant to hurt him, I was just so-"

"So what, Derek! So far up your own ass you can't see how much pain you've been causing him! So far stuck in your own ego you can't see how much you've put him down!" He couldn't reply. The blonde's accusations rang through his head like gun shots in a cathedral, bouncing off each other and slamming into his newly awakened vision.

"I've… been hurting him… that much?"

"Yes, Morgan, you have! Hell, he would probably have preferred you to have raised a hand to him than the emotional _torture_ you've been putting him through! What ha he done to deserve that?" he tried to speak, but his mouth had gone dry and his mind numb. Torture… was she implying he was as bad as Hankel! He could feel the anger bubbling in his gut, a lava stream of rage rising through him and burning his tongue as he opened his mouth to snap a retort- "He didn't do anything wrong! His only crime was loving you!" Garcia's words crashed against the Lava like a torrent of ice, filling him with volcanic rocks that simultaneously seared his heart and weighed it down.

"Yeah, well… wait… he… what?" The pair stood there in silence, various kitchenware strewn about the floor of the blonde's apartment went unnoticed as both pairs of chocolate brown eyes locked on to each other, each waiting for the other to break the silence first, and each secretly hoping that they didn't. But the silence grew to heavy for Morgan to hold

"Penelope…"

"I think you should leave, Derek."

"But-"

"Please…" Morgan wanted nothing more than to sit his friend down and explain himself, and let her explain what she had meant… but the plea and the tears pricking at her eyes told him that he had overstayed his welcome – and that hurt almost as much as realising he had caused Reid pain had hurt. Never before had he been asked to leave by his Baby Girl… so, reluctantly, and without another word, he left, the events of the past couple of days hanging over him like a storm cloud, waiting to strike him with a violent lightning when he least expected it…

"Or maybe I'm just being paranoid…" he murmured, sliding into his car and sticking his key in the ignition "Yeah… paranoid."

_**"The course of true love never did run smooth". – William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act I, Scene I)**_

\/~#~\/

_I'm sorry it is so short, but the idea was to give a little bit of an insight as well as to give Morgan a kick up the ass. But now I need some advice… I know of a particular event I am going to have occur in this story, but I am afraid doing it in this chapter or the next might be making it a bit to… abrupt? Soon? So… what do you think the next chapter should entail? Current idea's include:_

_- A somewhat mean trick to get Morgan and Reid to make up_

_- A date between Reid and Morgan. Will likely have humour, fluff and a little angst (Am leaning towards this option)_

_But I am open to any and all of your ideas. Please help me out here, the sooner I get my muse running again, the sooner I can update (because I know I am nowhere near the best at updating quickly…)_

_Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you._


	8. Phoenix Rebirth

Hello all. Firstly, I am so sorry for having been away for so long - but the time was much needed and... yes. Now I am going to be back. I will be updating my other stories, but this one I am going to relaunch. By 'relaunch' I mean I will be reading over my chapters, editing here and there (though not too much for some, and not at all for the last chapter) then keep writing. I am doing this for several reasons, to reacquaint my readers with the story, to update any mistakes/errors that I accidentally left in, and of course to reacquaint myself with my own story. Luckily, I do know the direction it was headed in, and I should be able to pick it back up. I sincerely hope that you will all rejoin me in this emotional tale and I can't wait to hear from you.

A huge thank you to all who asked me to continue, and those who inspired me to continue writing. I would have been lost without you.

P.S - Opinion poll time! can I get away with keeping Emily and the team-era this was written in (as there are no direct links to cases etc), or would you rather I changed Emily to, say JJ or another up-to-date character?


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